In this article I will show you how I refinished door hardware that received the landlord special. This historic door hardware is found in many historic heritage homes with mortised locks.
Starting off with rusted or painted door hardware.
Hit it with a wire brush or wire wheel, removed all the paint and rust. being thorough. Then remove any residue or dust with denatured alcohol and a microfiber rag.
Clean it up with a metal sealant.. This product also doubled as a polisher. You apply a generous coat, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, and then wipe it off. I used a microfiber to apply, and a separate to wipe off.
What you’re left with is a brushed metal look that wont oxidize. Breathing new life in to your old, historic door hardware.
For the plates, I soaked them in acetone to remove all the paint and lightly wire brushed the crevasses and applied the same polish to them. The result was satisfactory, and certainly much better that the previous finish.
I’m interested in exploring a chemical solution to yield a smoother finish. I feel that the wire brushing scrapes the metal. More to come on that.